Impossible Dreams
by Aishiteru1984
Summary: Yuki and Tohru's dreams take them away to a place where they can discover their true feelings for one another, but will it transcend to reality? YukiTohru
1. Good Ending to a Bad Day

This storry "Impossible Dreams" is based on the 30 kisses challege over at LiveJournal.

Also, I would like to thank Kira-chan (kirayasha) for betaing my fic. Thank you so much, Kira-chan.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own the characters of Fruits Basket, Natsuki Tayaka does.

**WARNING**: The following story contains spoilers from the _anime_ Fruits Basket. Read at your own risk. This story also contains mild language and some violence.

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****Impossible Dreams** – Good Ending to a Bad DayKiss #12: In a good mood. 

_Hello, my name is Tohru Honda, and I'm a high school student about to finish her second year. This year has been such a roller coaster ride for me, especially the past few days. I mean learning about the core of the Sohma's big family secret in two days… Wait a minute; I'm getting ahead of myself, aren't I? Eh heh… Sorry about that… Let me start again._

_Two years ago I lost my mother to a fatal car accident. I stayed with my paternal grandfather for a while, but his house needed renovations to make more room for my aunt, uncle, and cousin, as they were moving in to help take care of him. So Grandpa asked me if I had somewhere I could stay while the house was being worked on. Since I was paying for school, I had to stay nearby, so I couldn't go with him to stay with my other Aunt. I guess I could have transferred to another high school, but I was already accepted into this one. By accepted I mean having good enough grades to attend and also be accepted as myself by my best friends Arisa Uotani and Saki Hanajima. So, anyway when my grandfather asked if I had someone to say with, I told a little white lie, by telling him I had a place to stay, when actually I really didn't. Even now I kind of feel bad for lying to him, but I didn't want him to feel guilty about leaving me behind. I also didn't want to burden Uo and Hana either, I mean they have enough to worry about, with school and all, and besides I didn't want to be in their way. So I decided to live in a tent until the house was finished, then I would move back and things would be as they were before._

_On my way to school one morning I decided to become more acquainted with my new surroundings, so I left a little earlier than usual. I happened upon a small house. It seemed like such a peaceful place and something about it reminded me of the calm of the apartment my mother and I shared. To tell you the truth, I was shocked to find out that it was Yuki Sohma's house. Yuki Sohma is…uh…well; they call him the "Prince" of our high school since he is so popular with the girls. Almost all of the girls like him and want to go out with him. There is even something called the Prince Yuki Fan Club and they adore Yuki so much that they would do anything to protect him, whether it be from embarrassment or something as simple as making sure he isn't late for class. Not to say he was ever late for class, but you know what I mean, don't you? I'm getting off subject again, aren't I?_

_How did I meet them you ask? Well, it was one night after they were coming home from eating a large feast at an expensive restaurant, or at least that's what Shigure said, when they happened upon my tent. Shigure thought the circumstances to be a bit humorous and he wasn't shy in the least about letting out his laughter. Although, I have to admit he and Yuki were so kind in inviting me to stay at their house after a landslide destroyed my newly found home and I didn't have anywhere else to go. Yuki was very helpful in digging out all my belongings from the rubble when I began to panic that my mother's picture was underneath it all and Mother would be hurt if she wasn't dug up immediately. That picture was one of the few things I had that remained me of her and I cherish it the most. Luckily, neither the picture, nor the frame was damaged too badly. Shigure comforted me, saying that my mother would have been relieved that it was the tent that was damaged rather than me getting hurt. I'm sure when Mother saw the tent collapse underneath the wreckage that she was grateful to Shigure and Yuki for finding me a few minutes beforehand. My mother, who I think of as my guardian angel, was the one who guided Yuki and Shigure to find me so that I wouldn't be hurt. I'm sure of it, and I'm thankful to them as well as to her. When I awoke the next morning I found Mother looking at me, smiling. I didn't know who placed the picture beside me, but whoever it was I thought it was really sweet of him. Come to think of it, Yuki did come into the room I was staying in with all my belongings, so maybe it was him? To this day I still don't know how he did it all in one night. At the time he told me it was a secret, and I had the feeling that he was going to tell me how he did it, but now I don't know if I'll never know, not that I mind._

_Anyway, this arrangement wasn't permanent, it was only until Grandpa's house was finished being renovated. Shigure said I could stay in their spare room for free, but in exchange I would be their housekeeper, which I didn't mind. I loved to cook and I'm really good about keeping a neat and tidy house. I guess I get that from my mother. She always kept the house nice and clean and her food was the best in Japan! Eh heh…sorry, I'm off subject again…_

_Little did I know when entering the Sohma's household that I would be responsible for keeping their big family secret. Their secret, you ask? Well, I guess I can tell you, but you have to promise to keep it a secret, ok? As members of the Chinese Zodiac, Yuki, Shigure, Kyo, as well as the other nine, when hugged by the opposite sex, or if their body is under a lot of stress, like when they're feeling ill or cold or something like that, they turn into the animals of the zodiac they represent. Yuki, for example, turns into a rat. However, when they turn back, as I have embarrassing witnessed a few too many times for my liking, they are naked. Oh, and I haven't met all of the members of the Chinese Zodiac yet, but am looking forward to one day meeting them all._

_Oh Kyo? How could I forget about him? I feel awful now… Well, Kyo is the cat of the Chinese Zodiac. Well, actually, he was supposed to be a member of the Chinese Zodiac. According to the story my mother told me, long ago when God told the thirteen animals of the zodiac He was holding a grand banquet for them all the following day, the rat decided to trick the cat and he told him the banquet was the day afterward. Being deceived by the rat, the cat missed out on all the food and festivities at the banquet and wasn't able to become a member of the zodiac. And just like the cat in the story, Kyo has a bit of a short temper when it comes to the rat, or rather Yuki, not to mention being shunned all his life by most of the family. Kyo told me once that he dreamt of beating Yuki because if he did, he could become a true member of the Sohma family. He has a deep dark secret however; it is part of the core of the family's secret, it's Kyo's true form. Incredibly it isn't the cat, like you'd think, since all the other members of the zodiac simply become their animal, but a demon-like creature. When I saw him for the first time I was terrified, but Yuki, along with Uo and Hana, encouraged me to tell Kyo the truth, that I was frightened of him. He told me that that's what he wanted to hear and that I also wanted to stay with him, Yuki, and Shigure. He was glad that I didn't lie and tell him that I wasn't afraid of what he had become. Ever since then Kyo and I have been the best of friends. Even though Yuki and Kyo still fight and throw punches at each other once in a while, they are still great friends to me and I wouldn't trade them for anything in the world._

_Truth be told, Kyo's true form isn't the core, or the base, of the curse of the Sohma family. The heart of the curse lies with Akito, the head of the family. I was brought to tears when I was told of the burden he bore for the family. You see when he was born it was decided that he was going to die. So he lives on making all the family's decisions until the day he passes away and the curse is brought upon the newborn next in line. My heart grieves for him and I wish there was something I could do for him. I tried talking to him, but I felt it got us nowhere. Though Shigure and Hatori, the dragon, assured me I was wrong, but I still don't believe it._

_And I am so grateful to have so many good friends in the Sohma family. Shigure the dog, Momiji the rabbit, Kisa the Tiger, Hatsuharu the cow, Kagura the boar, Hiro the sheep, Ritzu the monkey, and lastly Ayame, who is also Yuki's older brother, the snake. All have been so nice to me and I can't wait to meet the remaining members of the zodiac._

_As we left the main house of the Sohma household yesterday, Kyo questioned Yuki and me briefly on how the meeting went with Akito. I felt it best to wait until we were back at Shigure's to tell him, so I wouldn't have to be discrete about telling him of matters that dealt with the family's secret. After all, only few members of the Sohma family knew of the secret, mainly their parents and the select few who were close to them. He quickly dropped the subject as Yuki suddenly challenged him to a fight when they returned home. Now Kyo was more than eager to get home to have some dinner, but now more importantly, he wanted to have a good fight with Yuki. He strutted home; his head held high, determined that he would finally defeat Yuki and become a true member of the Sohma family…_

* * *

After returning home late that afternoon, they all gathered around the table in the sitting room as Tohru filled Kyo in on everything that happened with their visit with Akito, just as she had promised. Noticing it was becoming late, Tohru decided to begin preparing dinner. Shigure went back to writing his manuscript, Yuki decided to work on his homework, all the while Kyo lounged about watching TV. 

_I feel kind of bad… I should have told Kyo a bit more than what I told him about our visit with Akito this morning, but I don't think Akito would want me to tell him some of the things he revealed to us. So I will just keep that to myself out of respect for Akito because I think he would want it that way. Come to think of it, I don't think Akito would have wanted Yuki to hear half of what he said today either._ Tohru thought as she began to cook dinner. _I'm still so surprised how upset Kyo became when I told him I had a headache from Akito pulling my hair. Well, I guess that means he cares a lot about me and doesn't like to see me getting hurt._ Tohru smiled, continuing to think the day's events over in her head.

_I wonder why Yuki is so eager to fight with Kyo. Come to think of it, he seemed rather tense this morning. Maybe he just needs someone to take it out on. Though I don't really approve of fighting to take out aggression, though I guess that is why they took martial art lessons. Still he could take his aggression out on something else, like a pillow. That's helps me feel better when I get angry._ She pondered as she filleted a few fish. She became distracted when she heard Yuki and Kyo beginning to bicker back and forth. Figuring it was one of their normal fights of taunting and teasing each other, she ignored them and happily returned to preparing the fish to be put in the oven.

As she placed the fish in the oven, the rice to begin steaming in the cooker, and the broth to begin to boil, she heard a loud crash coming from the dinning room. She dropped what she was doing to see what the ruckus was about. Peering into the dinning room she saw the dinning room table upturned to the one corner Yuki's books and papers scattered across the floor, and Yuki and Kyo swinging punches at each other.

Tohru opened her mouth to try to stop them, but she hesitated as she realized that this fight was different from the others and remained silent. _Well, I guess what my mother always said, "Once the water is boiling, it is hard to cool it down," applies to more than one situation._

"You ready, rat boy? Today's the day that I am totally gonna to kick your ass!" Kyo confidently stated as he clenched his fist. _No way this damn rat is getting away from me this time. Today I'll be the one to send him sailing out into the yard!_

"Is that so?" Yuki calmly said readying his stance.

"You were the one that wanted to fight you dumb ass, so why are you acting all 'I'm fighting because you started it'?

"Because you did start it, you stupid cat." Yuki bluntly stated, "Now hurry up and fight, or better yet just admit defeat, or the dinner Miss Honda made is going to get cold!"

"Dinner can wait! Besides, _you're_ just trying to avoid the situation!"

"Is that so?"

"Quit taunting me!" Kyo shouted.

He charged at Yuki and they started throwing punches at each other. Tohru quickly realized that this fight was different from the others when Kyo managed to hit Yuki in the face. Yuki was taken aback and looked surprised for a moment, but soon recovered, lunging forward to hit Kyo in the nose. When Kyo realized his nose was bleeding he paused for a moment as he tried to stop the blood from running down his face.

"You bastard! I think you broke my nose!" Kyo complained as he swung at Yuki, still cupping his nose with his hand.

"You should have kept your guard up!" Yuki retorted as he dodged Kyo's punches.

"I did, but I guess I hit you too hard for you to see that!"

"If you two are going to fight, take it outside! I'm getting a little tired of my house being destroyed constantly. I only earn so much a month and it is beginning to not be enough to cover the damages. The main house is refusing to pay for any more repairs! So either get your acts together or go outside!" Shigure said pausing to yell at them, on the way to his study. It was the first time Shigure showed his frustration over their fighting. He had become irritated over the constant destruction of his house, but this time it was eminent in his voice, when usually it was a calm warning. Although he could have been feeling the pressure to finish his next manuscript, or maybe he was simply feeling the tension coursing throughout the Sohma household. Whatever it was, when Yuki and Kyo ignored him and kept at it, Shigure returned and escorted them outside, which was rather unusual and something Shigure wouldn't have normally done.

After standing outside glaring at each other for a moment they began to fight again. Kyo seemed to be getting better and managed to hit Yuki a few more times. Maybe this was because of his newfound dedication to his martial art studies, but it also could have been that Yuki was having a bad day. Then their battle rapidly grew from bad to ugly. Kyo dodged a punch Yuki threw at him and countered it with a right kick to Yuki's face. Yuki blocked it and spun around and attempted a left back kick to Kyo's head, which Kyo blocked and catching Yuki off guard, the rat landed in an awkward stance. Kyo found this to be the perfect opportunity to strike and he kicked Yuki's left upper arm. Yuki squeaked loudly and fell to his knees, clutching his upper arm in pain. He cursed softly as the blood began to seep through the bandages, his blue shirt, and trickled out and around his fingers. He still couldn't believe Kyo had managed to hit him again in the same spot that he did two days ago.

As soon as she saw him fall to his knees, Tohru rushed out to see if he was all right. She blushed embarrassingly over the awkwardness of unbuttoning his shirt to get to his bandaged wound. Yuki grimaced as she hastily pulled the shirt off of his shoulder, opening the third of the gashes. She apologized as more blood began to flow and felt awful she had hurt him further, but it was as she feared Kyo's kick had irritated the wound he had inflicted on Yuki the day before. Panicking, Tohru ran into the house shouting nervously, "Shigure! It's really bad! Yuki and Kyo are hurt! I didn't see what happened, but Kyo's nose is bleeding all over the place and Yuki is covered in blood too and it looks like the wounds on his shoulder and upper arm have reopened again…"

Shigure looked up at her and sighed. He calmly got up and went outside to see the damage that had been done. He was happy to see that the house had not suffered any damage, but became rather concerned when he looked at Yuki's arm and Kyo's bleeding nose. After retrieving a damp towel and a few tissues, Tohru scurried back to Yuki and applied pressure to the wound trying to stop it from bleeding, after she handed Kyo some tissues, and Shigure went back inside to call Hatori.

"You should have kept your guard up, rat boy," Kyo snapped.

"You knew that was my bad shoulder, stupid cat!" Yuki hissed.

"All the more reason to hit it. You're supposed to target your opponent's weak spots, right?"

"So I guess that means your entire body is your weak spot?"

"You get up and say that, damn rat!"

"Maybe I will." Yuki said as he started to stand.

"Yuki, please don't, you're bleeding." Tohru advised, trying to hold Yuki's arm still as she continued to apply pressure to his injury.

_They both seemed to calm down after that. Their panting became steady breathing as we all sat there waiting for Hatori to arrive. I could not believe how riled up they had become that afternoon and couldn't recall a previous fight in which I saw them bleed so much._

_It seems as if Kyo feels a little bad about hurting Yuki's injured arm. I could tell by looking at his expression because after a while Kyo frowned and looked away, instead of gritting his teeth in anger. I felt so bad for Yuki when I discovered that he had been hurt that morning. On our way back to the house that day I didn't seem to pay much attention to him. I knew he was there, but I didn't really acknowledge he was there. I was only focused on getting Kyo back to the house and all my thoughts were focused on him. Yuki approached me later that evening asking if I would change the bandages. When I saw the deep gashes in his shoulder and upper arm I resisted the temptation to hug him and just apologized that I didn't know about it sooner. He reassured me that Kagura had fixed him up earlier and that it would be all right as long as the bandages were changed regularly. Tohru thought as she continued to tend to Yuki's injury. But still, it was rather careless of him to jump right into a fight when there was the slight chance he could injure himself further._

Realizing that she had left something in the oven, Tohru jumped up, throwing Kyo the towel, exclaiming, "Kyaa! I forgot I had fish cooking in the oven! Here Kyo, put some pressure on that!" She darted back into the house giving Kyo no chance to protest.

Kyo took the bloodstained towel and continued to apply pressure to Yuki's shoulder. Yuki tensed as Kyo held it there. "So…" Kyo began.

"What?"

"I did this to you, huh?"

"Yeah. I'm just lucky it was me instead of Miss Honda," Yuki replied, surprised at Kyo's stupidity.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I saw how you were about to lunge at her, so I had to do something."

Seeing as the fish still needed to cook a little longer Tohru decided to check and see if Yuki's shoulder had stopped bleeding, but instead of going out she hesitated. Hiding behind the door she overheard their on-going conversation, but she did not want them to know she was listening.

"I don't remember ever doing that."

"Maybe you just don't want to remember because it hurts too much."

"Geez, aren't you in a good mood," Kyo sarcastically said.

_Come to think of it, Yuki does seem to be in a bad mood this evening. I wonder what is bothering him? Could it be because of our meeting with Akito this morning?_ She watched Kyo as he occasionally opened and closed his mouth, as if he was going to say something. He looked nervous and she wondered what was on his mind.

"I'm sorry, ok?"

"Huh?" Yuki looked up at Kyo dumbfounded.

"I didn't mean to hurt you yesterday. I guess…I was just upset about everything that was going on," Kyo continued, looking away from Yuki.

_This is different. I never expected Kyo to apologize to Yuki. I mean he hasn't before. I guess he realized that he had actually unintentionally hurt Yuki. Tohru thought, as she couldn't help but smile to herself._

"It's ok."

"But you deserved everything you got today, rat boy!"

So much for a good thing…

"Yeah, well so did you!"

Tohru found this to be a good opportunity to step back in. She examined Yuki's shoulder and since the blood still lightly trickled from his injury, she continued to hold the towel over it.

"Dinner should be ready soon," Tohru smiled.

"Sorry about this, Miss Honda," Yuki said apologetically.

"Oh no, It's all right, the fish didn't burn."

"That's not what I meant…" Yuki sighed, "I meant…"

"Oh, your shoulder? No, it's fine. I can stand the sight of blood. Well, at least to some degree anyway. Kyaa! Yuki! Your eye!" Tohru exclaimed seeing the swelling under his eye turning ever so slowly a deep black and blue. "You need ice!" She ran back inside and was out again in what seemed like seconds. She lightly pressed an ice pack against his swollen eye as he looked up at her in shock, the surprise of the burning coldness of the ice on his swollen eye making him jump.

"I'm sorry," Tohru apologized retracting the ice pack away from his eye.

"No, it's fine," Yuki reassured her, taking her hand with the ice pack and guiding it back to his eye.

"Kyo, here's one for you if… Where'd he go?" Tohru asked looking throughout the back yard to see where Kyo had run off to, after looking at the ice pack in her other hand.

"Where do you think, Miss Honda?"

Knowing Yuki was referring to the roof, Tohru laid the towel on Yuki's knee and climbed the nearby latter to the roof. "Kyo? Do you need ice?"

"What the hell makes you think I need ice? Didn't have it in the woods and I don't need it now," he blurted out not thinking. When he gazed at her and saw her frown he corrected himself, "What I meant to say is that I'm fine. Thanks anyway."

Looking down from the heights of the ladder, Tohru saw Yuki head back inside and realized she had to finish making dinner. She figured Yuki went to clean up before dinner and didn't think of following him as she headed back down the ladder and into the house. She also knew Kyo wouldn't come down for dinner until he was called and so continued to cheerfully finish making dinner when there was a knock at the door, the chimes on the door outside, announcing Hatori's arrival. She paused in her preparations when Shigure asked her if she would be so kind as to answer the door. Politely bowing to the doctor, she invited him inside. Needless to say he wasn't in a good mood either, having been called out so late. He was even more upset to see that the two high school boys had been reckless with their fighting again when they were called down for dinner.

"You seem to have doctored these two up pretty well, Tohru," Hatori complimented, as he looked the two boys over briefly.

"Oh, well I really didn't know what to do, so I just winged it," Tohru said, waving her hands in the air. "Won't you stay for some dinner, Hatori? There's plenty to go around."

"I would, but I have already eaten, but thank…"

"Come now, Ha'ri. Our sweet Tohru offered some of her amazing home-cooked food to you and you refuse it?" Shigure dramatically interrupted, placing his hand on Tohru's shoulder. "Who knows when you will ever get to taste her wonderful food next," Shigure finished, acting as if he was truly hurt by Hatori's words.

"It's alright, Shigure. I'll make something for him another time," Tohru smiled.

"I guess I wouldn't mind some soup," Hatori requested before taking Kyo into the bathroom, so he could look at his nose.

"Damn it, Hatori! That hurt!" Kyo yelled from the bathroom as Hatori fixed his nose and put a small bandage on it.

"Now who's the 'sissy boy'?" Yuki mocked, from where he sat at the table, picking at his food.

"I'll give you a broken nose, sissy boy!" Kyo threatened, leaning his head out the bathroom door and yelling down the hallway. "Argh… Quit it, Hatori!"

Tohru glanced over at Yuki, "Yuki, is something wrong with your dinner? You aren't eating."

"No, nothing's wrong with it. It's wonderful, Miss Honda. I just don't have an appetite this evening."

"That's cause he's wallowing in his defeat!" Kyo exclaimed as he returned to the table, puffing out his chest and flexing his muscles.

"And to think I didn't think 'wallowing' was in your vocabulary…" Yuki commented dryly.

"I ought to… OW!" Kyo yelped as Hatori retracted a needle from his arm.

"You were due for one soon anyway."

"That was cruel, Ha'ri!" Shigure lectured, remembering the time that Hatori gave him a painful shot to quiet him up.

"It shut him up, didn't it?" Hatori said as he sat down and slurped some of the soup Tohru served him, before turning his attention to Yuki. He examined his black and blue eye, making sure the rest of the eye was all right. Hatori then took Yuki into the bathroom to finish the examination of his injuries so as not to turn anyone's stomachs. They returned a few minutes later, and Yuki continued to pick at his food while Hatori hurriedly ate his so he could be on his way home. "I left some fresh bandages and ointment for Yuki's shoulder in the bathroom, Tohru. Just change them twice a day and I'll be back in a few days to check up on it. Oh, and put ice on that eye later, Yuki."

"Yeah, sure…" Yuki sighed.

Hatori left soon after and the house grew quiet. Shigure returned to his study and continued proofreading his manuscript, while Kyo had gone back up to the roof, Tohru sat in the TV room finishing her homework, and Yuki was up in his room reading. Tohru found it hard to concentrate on her homework. She was worried about what was troubling Yuki. He doesn't seem himself tonight. Maybe I should talk to him. He hardly ate anything at dinner, so something must be on his mind. She packed her books and notebook back into her book bag and stood at the bottom of the stairs staring upward. Shigure peered out and around the doors of his study to see her standing there.

"Is everything alright, Tohru?"

Tohru jumped unaware she was being watched. "Oh, I…um…I'm fine. Why?"

"You know if you are worried about him, go talk to him."

Tohru blushed and then turned to him and smiled, "I know. I was just…uh…"

"You know, Tohru if you ever wanted to talk, my door is always open." Shigure added.

"I'll remember that. Thank you, Shigure."

Tohru slowly made her way up the stairs to her room. She dropped her bag off in there and stood in the doorway of her room staring across the hall at Yuki's closed door. _Should I go talk to him? What if he doesn't want to talk and just wants to be left alone? Or maybe he does need someone to talk to._ As she was thinking to herself, she subconsciously inched her way across the hall to Yuki's bedroom door. She rested her knuckles against the frame of the door and stared at her hand continually debating with herself on whether or not she should talk to him. Not realizing she had knocked already she jumped when she heard Yuki's voice call out, asking who it was. When he repeated his question she finally replied, "It's me. May…may I come in?"

"Of course, Miss Honda," Yuki replied.

Tohru slid the door open and entered his room. He was sitting on his bed, a book nestled on his lap. He had marked the place he was reading and set the book on the table beside his bed, moving his legs over for her to sit beside him. Taking the hint Tohru sat down.

"Is there something I can help you with, Miss Honda? Any homework you're having trouble with?"

"No, I've finished all my homework."

"That's good. What is it that you needed then?"

"I…uh…?" Tohru stuttered as she tried to find the right words while Yuki stared at her. She looked over to the book he had been reading, thinking that maybe it could tell her what she wanted to ask him. "So…uh…what book are you reading?"

"It's a book about gardening," Yuki replied.

"I should have known," Tohru smiled.

"If that's all you needed, I should be getting ready for bed."

"No, I…uh…just wanted to know if you were all right."

"My shoulder's feeling a little…"

"What I meant to ask was if you were feeling alright. You don't seem yourself today."

"Oh." Yuki looked away, ashamed at her concern for him. _I didn't think she would notice. Have I been acting like a fool all day? Did I say something to upset her?_

"Does it have anything to do with our visit with Akito this morning?" Tohru guessed hesitantly. When Yuki didn't reply to her question she continued, "If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine too."

_But I don't know what to say, Miss Honda._ Yuki sighed as he thought to himself.

Tohru stood, "Well I…uh…sorry I bothered you. I'll let you get ready for…"

"It's alright, Miss Honda. Please stay."

Tohru turned to look down at him and then sat back down. They sat for a few minutes in silence.

"I'm so mad at Akito!"

"Hm? Why?"

"Seeing how he treated you early made me want to…I don't know," Yuki answered, clenching the fabric of his pants in his hand.

"I'm fine, Yuki."

"That's not the point. The point is he did do it."

"He just feels a lot of hurt and is maybe a little envious of you."

"Why are you on his side?" Yuki spat back, and then quickly whispered an apology.

"I'm not on anyone's side," Tohru replied, gently placing her hand on his. He gazed down at her hand, letting his hand relax beneath hers and looked back up at her.

"I'm such a mess,"

"Nani?" Tohru questioned, tilting her head.

"Look at me, I have a black eye. Everyone will notice tomorrow."

"I'm sure everyone will be concerned at first, but then they will ignore it. Not to say that a black eye should be ignored because it shouldn't. It needs to be taken care of so it can get better. And I'm not saying that you should be ignored because you shouldn't. What I meant to say was…"

"I know what you mean, Miss Honda."

Tohru gazed out Yuki's window to see the moon's light shining in. Yuki peered out the window as well to see what exactly she was looking at. His attention was brought back to Tohru's hand on his knee as she moved her fingers slightly. He slipped his hand from underneath hers and gently placed it upon hers. She quickly turned her head around to see him take her hand in his. She looked up at him in surprise as he smiled, raising her hand to his lips and gently kissing her fingertips. She turned away as she felt her cheeks heat up.

"Thank you, Miss Honda."

"You're welcome, Yuki. I'm just glad to see you smile again."

* * *

Tohru awoke the next morning to the smell of rice and miso soup. She rolled out of bed, got dressed for school, and grabbing her bag she headed downstairs. She peered in the kitchen to see Kyo cooking. 

"Kyo? You don't have to…"

"Look, I wanted to."

"Oh, ok." Tohru said as she let him return to cooking and went to the sitting room. Shigure was outside sitting on the porch smoking, and he turned around to bid her a good morning.

"You must have been very tired this morning, Tohru. Usually you're up by now."

"Eh heh…I must not have heard my alarm go off," Tohru replied embarrassingly.

"Yuki must not have heard his either," Shigure commented, his cigarette dangling from his mouth, "I know he's not a morning person, but he should have been up by now too."

"Should I go…?" Tohru inquired.

"No, no, not yet."

As if he had heard them talking about him, Yuki appeared in the doorway, his eyes glazed over as he sat down adjacent to Tohru, resting his head on his hand. His eyes became heavy and they gradually closed but immediately popped open again as Yuki realized he was starting to fall asleep again.

"Good morning, Yuki," Tohru cheerfully greeted.

"Morning…" Yuki groaned sleepily.

The door slid open as Kyo announced that breakfast was ready. Tohru helped him serve everyone and they all sat down to eat.

"This looks wonderful, Kyo," Tohru complimented.

"Not really," Kyo replied.

"It's better than something Yuki would make," Shigure said, poking Yuki's cheek. Yuki's head bobbled from side to side before he realized he was being poked and swatted Shigure's hand away.

"My, my, aren't we feisty this morning."

After breakfast Tohru managed to wake Yuki enough to let her look at his shoulder so he wouldn't be in shock when she cleaned the wound with the medicine Hatori gave her. As soon as the liquid touched the gashes in his shoulder, Yuki woke with a start and grimaced. She apologized for it stinging and he reassured her he was fine. Kyo squeezed in behind them and prepared to brush his teeth. He turned up his nose when he saw the damage he had caused to Yuki's shoulder and looked away, as Tohru continued to bandage it.

"There. I hope it's not too tight, Yuki?"

"It's fine, thank you, Miss Honda."

* * *

Arriving at school it wasn't long before everyone noticed Yuki's black eye. He looked extremely upset as he walked toward homeroom period and he couldn't wait for the day to be over as almost everyone in the school questioned him about his eye. Tohru tried to comfort him, but it wasn't any use. The news of his black eye spread like wildfire and soon the Prince Yuki Fan Club confronted Yuki about it. 

"Yuki, what happened to you?" President of the Prince Yuki Fan Club, Motoko Minagawa asked him before she looked accusingly at Tohru, "Did she hit you?"

"Miss Honda?" Yuki replied, surprised she would accuse Tohru of such a thing. "No, I just…hit my head, that's all."

President Motoko and the other members of the Prince Yuki Fan Club huddled together, while Yuki looked at them quizzically. A few members believed that he was lying, and Motoko spat back that he wasn't the type of person to lie.

"Excuse me, but it is almost time for class. Is that all you wanted, Miss Minagawa?"

"Hey! Leave the guy alone and get to class," Uo instructed.

"Yes, we wouldn't want you to be…late," Hana added, as the Fan Club girls ran for cover as soon as she opened her mouth.

"What happened to you, Prince?" Uo questioned, "That's quite a shiner you got there."

"It was nothing…"

"He just doesn't want to admit to his defeat!" Kyo said proudly.

"And what happened to you, Orange Top?" Uo inquired looking at the small bandage on his nose.

"They were fighting…" Hana clarified.

"Oh, I get it. So the Prince lost, huh?"

"Yuki! I came as soon as I heard." Hatsuharu greeted, ever so lightly punching Yuki's stomach. "What happened? Who did this to you?" Hatsuharu glanced over at Kyo's smug expression. "Oh, I see, so Kyo did this to you?" He strode over to Kyo and looked him dead in the eye. "You and me later, jackass!" He shoved Kyo aside and continued on toward his homeroom.

"Would you all just please leave me alone!" Yuki shouted, as he stormed off.

"Yuki…" Tohru sadly called, setting off after him.

"Rrr! I knew I shouldn't have gone to school today! What's worse Akito's going to find out about this," Yuki said angrily, punching his locker. Tohru, shocked by his outburst, placed her hand on his shoulder in comfort.

"Everyone is just concerned for you, is all," Tohru reassured him. "They aren't trying to upset you."

As the day progressed the talk about Yuki's eye dwindled down to barely a word, for which Yuki was grateful, as he was tried of explaining himself to everyone who asked. The members of his Fan Club, however, continued to investigate the situation, determined to find out what exactly happened. Some of them even kept asking him how he was feeling, which he thought was annoying, but he would politely say that he was fine and then ignore their whispered discussion of who could have caused their beloved prince harm. He was also glad that no one was aware of his hurt shoulder because he had no idea how to explain that one. Yuki was relieved that everyone now paid less attention to him and more to the teacher and their studies. At one point he bumped into Tohru, Uo, and Hana in the hallway, and with one glare Hana had dispersed the obsessed Fan Club girls who had been following him. By the end of the day the tension he felt melted away as school finished.

Yuki stood at his locker, leaning his head against it. _What a day this has been. I'm so glad it's over. Only one more thing to do before I can go home and forget it all happened. I really should thank Miss Honda and her friends later for helping me get through the day. If it wasn't for Miss Honda's comforting words earlier I might have stressed myself out to the point where I would have transformed. I don't know what I'd do if her memories have to be erased._

"Yuki, is something wrong?" Tohru asked, distracting Yuki from his thoughts.

"No, I'm fine, but thank you for your concern," Yuki replied, lifting up his head to smile at her.

Tohru, with the help of Uo and Hana, saw to it that Yuki got to his Student Council meeting on time and that the Fan Club girls didn't bother him. They were surprised to see that not many had followed and they wondered where they could have all gone. Tohru, soon after making sure Yuki was feeling better, walked with her best friends to the transit center where they parted ways and she returned to Shigure's.


	2. Calm After the Storm

This storry "Impossible Dreams" is based on the 30 kisses challege over at LiveJournal.

Also, I would like to thank Kira-chan (kirayasha) for betaing my fic. Thank you so much, Kira-chan.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own the characters of Fruits Basket, Natsuki Tayaka does.

**WARNING**: The following story contains spoilers from the _anime_ Fruits Basket. Read at your own risk. This story also contains mild language and some violence.

* * *

**Impossible Dreams **– Calm After the Storm 

Kiss # 3: Jolt!

After returning home from school, Tohru paused outside Shigure's study, announcing that she and Kyo were back for the evening. He looked up from his book, and peered over his glasses, and greeted her warmly. She took a brief moment to set down her bag just outside the door and entered the room. Shigure welcomed her in, taking off his glasses, folding them neatly, and placing them on top of his book, as she knelt down beside him.

"How was school today, Tohru?"

"It was a good day, thank you," she replied before continuing, "Though I can imagine that it was a long day for Yuki."

"Oh? Why's that?" Shigure asked, tilting his head and rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"Everyone at school noticed his black eye and he was the center of attention all day. A few asked what happened to Kyo's nose, but most of the attention was guided toward Yuki, which I think upset Kyo a great deal."

"Hmm… This is very true, though they brought it upon themselves. Recklessly jumping in to such a fight, no doubt, caused unnecessary injury," Shigure pointed out as Tohru nodded her agreement. "I must say I was very disappointed in Yuki's actions yesterday. Usually he thinks things through before plunging into such matters. But when he finds that action or fighting is the only way to get his point across _that_ is when he will take the appropriate action." Shigure sat lost in thought a moment longer before leaning over his desk to look for the rat, who usually trailed behind Tohru coming home. "So where is Yuki?"

"Oh, that's right. He wanted me to tell you that he had an unexpected Student Council meeting after school today and would be home late. He said we could go ahead and eat dinner if we wanted to."

"Sounds good to me. I'm starving." Kyo said, descending the stairs, rounding the corner to peer into Shigure's study. His stomach growled at the very thought of dinner.

"Oh, alright," Tohru replied laughing, "But I'd like to start some homework first, if you don't mind?"

"Then what's the point of having dinner without that damn rat, if you keep putting off making it?"

"I'm sorry, Kyo. I just have a lot of homework tonight and wanted to get some done before we ate. Did you want me to make you something to tie you over until dinner?"

"No, that's alright. Just start dinner soon, ok?" Kyo answered, before disappearing down the hallway to the sitting room.

"Alright," Tohru giggled.

After finishing a good deal of her math homework Tohru made her way downstairs and began to cook dinner. While the rice was cooking, she glanced into the sitting room to see the shoji doors slid open and Kyo sleeping out on the porch. Smiling to herself over the relative calm of the evening compared to last night, Tohru went back to making dinner.

She put aside a good portion of the beef stew she had made, for when Yuki returned home later that evening, before serving Kyo and Shigure.

"So, how is it?" Tohru asked, before she began to eat.

"It's wonderful as always, Tohru," Shigure complimented

"Yeah, it's good," Kyo shyly agreed.

"Thank you." She began to eat, occasionally looking to the side of the table where Yuki usually sat. _It sure is quiet tonight. It's probably because Yuki isn't here for Kyo to tease. I still feel bad that we're eating without him, but he insisted we go ahead._

Shigure found the quiet rather refreshing as he took an extra moment with every bite he took to savor the taste of Tohru's cooking. "It's going to rain tonight," Shigure stated, breaking the silence.

"How can you tell?" Tohru asked, glancing outside the opened shoji doors. "It's beautiful outside. Just look at that wonderful sunset."

"I can smell it in the air, not to mention Kyo's mopping about the house."

"Whatever…" Kyo mumbled, slouching on the table as he ate.

"See what I mean?"

Tohru turned her attention to Kyo and looked at him worriedly. "Are you alright, Kyo?" She slid her hand under his bangs as she felt his forehead for a fever. "Good, you don't have a fever."

"Of course not, because I'm not sick," Kyo mumbled, swatting Tohru's hand away as if it were a fly. "That damn rat told you that one time that I don't like the rain, right?"

"Yeah. Well, I just wanted to make sure," Tohru smiled.

"Yeah, well thanks anyway."

"Sure."

Shigure leaned back and groaned, "I couldn't possibly eat another bite, yet my taste buds long for more. The meat, potatoes, and vegetables were cooked to such perfection that they melted in my mouth!"

Tohru smiled at yet another of Shigure's compliments as she finished eating her dinner. She gathered the dishes and piled them on a tray to take to the kitchen. She hummed happily to herself as she washed, dried, and put away the dishes. Felling satisfied the kitchen was as clean as it could be, Tohru turned her attention to her other chores.

Tohru began gathering her laundry soon after she finished changing her bed. A jolt of fear shot down her spine when she heard a crack of thunder. She jumped and the clothes she was carrying toppled down the stairs. Tohru quickly composed herself, and picking up her clothes, continued towards the laundry room. As she turned the dial to start the washer, she suddenly realized Yuki hadn't returned home from school yet. Tohru was concerned about him being out in such bad weather. _I hope he's all right. If I had known it was going to rain and that Yuki had a Student Council meeting this evening, I would have insisted he take an umbrella with him. He's probably going to be soaked when he gets home. Good thing I just finished his laundry, or he wouldn't have had anything to change into._ Tohru thought as she finished neatly folding his clothes.

Tohru returned up to her room after stopping in Yuki's room to put his clothes away. She sat at her desk thinking of what to write for her paper that was due at the end of the next week. She gasped as she heard thunder clap once more. A bolt of lightning streaking the dark sky, and rain began to pound heavily on the roof. Tohru hoped Kyo had come inside before it started raining and peered into his room briefly to see that he was there, sleeping over his opened homework. Turning back to her room, she gazed out the window to see sheets of rain blanketing their home.

As she looked out the window, she remembered a similar stormy night. That night Yuki had escorted her home from work when all of a sudden it decided to rain heavily. Luckily, Yuki transformed back from his rat form when it really began to pour. They ran against the rain to Yuki's "secret base" to protect it from the damaging wind and rain. Yuki had told her before about his "secret base," promising to take her there sometime. _I was so amazed when Yuki's "secret base" turned out to be a small garden. And to think I had envisioned it to be a hideout or just a code word for a special place he liked to go often._ Another lightening bolt raced across the sky, lighting the room followed by a loud thunderclap that sent a jolt of fear through her. She bolted down the stairs, catching Shigure's attention, and hurriedly grabbed the tarp, Yuki used on a night such as this occurred, and prepared to go outside.

"Tohru? Where are you going so late? It's raining cats and dogs out there." Shigure asked, leaning against the doorframe.

"Well, since Yuki isn't here at the moment, I thought I would help him out by protecting his garden," Tohru replied, slipping into her shoes.

"Can't you at least wait till it slows down a little?"

Tohru glanced out at the pouring rain and replied, "I don't think it is going to let up any time soon. Besides, I don't want the plants to drown when it is almost time to pick them," she pointed out, grabbing her pink umbrella.

"Oh, all right. Don't let me stop you, but please be careful," Shigure advised.

Tohru, not thinking the situation through, darted out into the cold summer rain. Through the blinding downpour, which seemed to be blowing sideways, Tohru could hardly see where she was going. Only when lightning flashed could she see which direction she was heading in, and every time Tohru seemed to be going in the precise direction of the garden. It was probably due to the many walks she and Yuki had taken to their hideout, or it may have been pure luck. Either way, the only thing on her mind was saving the small garden that she and Yuki had worked so hard to maintain, that Shigure's countless warnings about the forest being dangerous when it rained slipped her mind.

The sky lit up once more and she could see through the rain that the edge of the garden at the bottom of the small hill was still several feet ahead of her. Tohru braced herself against a nearby tree, catching her breath before continuing on. _Only a little further_ she silently encouraged herself. The wind began to pick up and as she let go of the tree Tohru lost her footing, slipped and tumbled down the hill. The small helpless plants at the edge of the garden cushioned her fall as she rolled onto them, crushing them instantly.

* * *

Yuki stood underneath the overlay, just outside the doors to the school, and looked up at the dark sky overhead. He had been the last to leave and was sure the other members of the Student Council had made it home in time before it rained. Holding his hand out, he did not feel any droplets fall onto it. "I guess it's now or never," Yuki commented aloud, before heading for home, his pace a quick jog. He thought if he ran, it would trigger an asthma attack, and that was the last thing he needed, especially when there was no one around to help. What concerned Yuki the most was transforming right in the middle of the busy street and if anyone would have seen, Akito would no doubt order their memories to be erased as well as Tohru's. He shook his head violently, thinking it would disperse the awful scenarios in his head and continued home, subconsciously slowing his pace down to a fast walk. 

Hearing rumbles of thunder and seeing bright flashes of lightning Yuki quickened his pace slightly in hopes of beating the rain, but as he feared, Yuki was suddenly hit with large droplets of cold rain, pounding and drenching his body. It was hard for him to see where he was going in amongst the thick sheets of rain; luckily there were breaks in the heavy rain that allowed him to make it home without stopping too much. He was relieved, at long last, to see the soft glow of the lantern outside the front door. _After such a long day, I'm finally home,_ he thought as he smiled.

He greeted Shigure briefly, before going to change and dry off, dripping as he ran up to his room. He noticed Tohru was nowhere to be found, after continually calling her name, and searching each room of the house for his friend. When he asked Kyo about it, he just groaned, ignoring Yuki's question and continued to sleep. After searching a little more with no success, he found Shigure in the sitting room watching it rain. "Shigure, have you seen, Miss Honda? Is she at work?"

"I'm sure if she was at work she would have told you, but she did say something about making sure the plants in your garden didn't drown," Shigure replied, looking over his glasses and the newspaper to look at Yuki. "I told her not to go out in such weather, but she was insistent about going. And you know Tohru when she is determined to do something she usually…Yuki…?" Shigure trailed off, watching as Yuki ran out into the cold rain to the "secret base".

_What was she thinking going out in such bad weather! The forest is dangerous at night and especially during raining season. I hope she is all right._ Yuki thought as he ran, occasionally splashing mud, as he ran through the large puddles. He was slightly annoyed that he had just dried off, only to be going out in the weather and just getting wet again, but his concern for Tohru's safety was the dominant of the two emotions.

"Miss Honda?" Yuki called out as he neared the garden.

Tohru jumped as she heard him call through the darkness of the evening, a bolt of lightning illuminating his figure a few moments afterward. She looked up, and through the blurriness of her tears of shock from the fall, she recognized him instantly.

"Yuki…?" she faintly cried. She dug her hand into the sticky mud, trying to prop herself up, but falling in the process.

He cautiously made his way down the small hill to her and wasn't surprised in the least that she had fallen. "What are you doing, Miss Honda?" Yuki asked, worry and anger in his voice as he helped her up.

"I wanted to help save the plants," Tohru softly replied, frowning at his tone.

"You could have been hurt, Miss Honda. You had me worried…" Yuki trailed off, as he knelt down. He picked up the tarp, and as Tohru held the one side, he pulled the other taut.

"I guess it was foolish of me… I'm sorry I worried you, Yuki," Tohru sobbed in embarrassment.

"It's alright, Miss Honda. But please, think before you go jumping into something next time, all right?" Yuki advised, as she nodded.

They returned later that night, soaked to the bone. Tohru, about to go change into something dry, remembered that all her laundry was being washed.

As Yuki descended down the stairs after changing for the second time that night, noticed Tohru sulking on the floor in her damp clothes. "What's wrong, Miss Honda?" Yuki asked, as he ran down the remaining stairs to her. "Why are you still in your wet clothes?"

"They're…they're still in the washer," she replied, before sneezing.

"I see. Come with me, I'll lend you some of my clothes then," he smiled, helping her up and leading her up to his room to find her something to wear. He handed her a dress shirt with three little blue ties and a pair of navy pants.

Blushing profusely, she thanked him for lending her his clothes before going to her room and changing into them. After coming back downstairs, her hair wrapped up in a towel, Tohru began to warm Yuki's dinner. She couldn't help but notice the faint blush on Yuki's cheeks, when he saw her in his clothes, out of the corner of her eye, as he leaned against the doorframe. Try as he may to hide it, she still saw it and more than likely had one to match. A few years before, when she started living with Yuki, she had worn his clothes, but he didn't know her well enough to blush about it. _Why is he blushing, he didn't before._ She thought as she smiled, and turning away, she hoped he didn't notice her blushing, before thanking him again. She sat with him, while he ate, and worked on her homework. Kyo slithered by a moment later, and after going into the kitchen for some milk, he stood in the doorway and drank from the carton listening to Yuki and Tohru's casual conversation.

"You know that's rude, stupid cat," Yuki lectured as he took his dishes into the kitchen to wash them, after assuring Tohru that it wasn't any trouble for him to do so.

"Whatever, damn rat…" Kyo mumbled, before finishing the milk and throwing the carton away. "You know what else is rude, damn rat?" he teasingly asked from the hallway.

"What? All your other mannerisms?"

Kyo rolled up his sleeve, clenching his fist and flexing his muscles, "You wanna start something, rat boy?"

"Not when you're this pathetic…" Yuki said dryly, wringing the towel in his hands.

"Hey! I don't need your pity!"

Shigure was suddenly standing between the two, tugging their ears. "There will be none of that tonight," he warned before returning back to his study to finish reading the paper.

Kyo cursed under his breath, and turned to go upstairs to bed. Tohru cheerfully wished him a good night and he mumbled a "night" in return, groggily making his way back to his room.

Yuki returned to the table moments later, pulling out his own homework to work on.

"So, how was the meeting, Yuki?" Tohru asked curiously.

Yuki sighed as he replied, "The usual complaints, not a legitimate amount of time for lunch break, still deciding upon where to go for the senior trip, etc."

"Well, have you tried having a class meeting and ask for suggestions? Then narrow those ideas down to the ones that sound the best and have those who suggested them come up with a small presentation as to why their destination of choice is the best. Then you could have everyone cast their votes on ballads, so that no one knows who voted for what," Tohru suggested.

"I knew I was going to set up voting ballads, but I like your idea of having everyone with a suggestion to promote their destination. Thank you, Miss Honda," he thanked her, and wrote down her suggestion on a piece of paper and tucked it into the front pocket of his book bag.

She smiled at him; glad she could be of help and packed her books back into her bag. She then lay back, staring up at the ceiling.

"Is something wrong, Miss Honda?" Yuki asked, looking up from his papers.

"No, I'm fine, just a little tired."

"Then why don't you go to bed?" Yuki suggested.

"No, that's alright. I'll wait for you to finish your homework," she replied, sitting up.

"You really don't have to wait for me, Miss Honda. I have quite a bit of homework left to do and will probably be up late finishing it. Unless there is something that you wanted me to look over?"

"No, I'm good," she smiled before laying back down. Her eyes suddenly became heavy and exhaustion filled her body. Thinking that it wouldn't hurt to rest them for just a moment, she closed her eyes and soon afterwards Tohru nodded off to sleep.

* * *

"Tohru?" Kyoko whispered, nudging her daughter. "Come on, Sleepyhead, wake up." 

Tohru opened her eyes to see her mother sitting beside her. "Mom…?" She was confused, as she knew her mother had died two years ago. _Am I…dreaming?_ She thought as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and sat up.

"So you've finally decided to wake up." Kyoko smiled. She frowned when she noticed her daughter's flushed cheeks. Reaching over and pushing Tohru's bangs away to feel her forehead, Kyoko saw that her daughter did indeed have a fever.

"Have you been working too hard, Tohru?"

"No, not really, just the same as always," Tohru replied smiling. She was overjoyed to see her mother's face again and to hear her sweet voice echoing in her ears once more. Tohru knew deep inside that her mother was gone, but it didn't stop her from smiling. It had been quite a while since she had dreamed of her mother, let alone seeing her face and hearing her voice, and it made her happy.

"You've come down with another one of your fevers, Tohru. If you aren't overworking yourself, then what?" Kyoko concernedly asked.

"I was…out in the rain."

"You catch colds doing that, silly."

"I know, but I wanted to help Yuki by trying to save his garden."

"Yuki? Who's Yuki?" Kyoko asked. She was lying beside her daughter, and had propped herself up on her elbows. She knew very well who Yuki Sohma was, as she watched over her daughter from heaven, but she wanted to hear from her daughter how special of a friend Yuki was to her.

"Yuki's a friend of mine from school. He and his cousin Shigure let me stay at their house until the renovations were done at Grandpa's, but when the other members of our family found out, they began to disrespect me. I truly wanted to stay with Shigure, Yuki, and Kyo, but I knew I couldn't. Grandpa said I didn't need to take such insults from them, but…they really hurt. He told me you would have said the same." She grew sad remembering that her family had accused her of sleeping with the men she was temporarily staying with, when actually she hadn't. "I don't know why, but one day Yuki and Kyo came to take me back home with them. It was perfect timing, as I was growing more miserable by the day. I think they noticed too and it was awkward seeing them only at school rather than all the time. It was so hard to smile when I was living with Grandpa for those few days. Not that Grandpa was mean to me because he wasn't, but I felt sad all the time because of the way everyone else was to me. Maybe that is why Yuki and Kyo came to take me home that day. When I went home with them that night, my spirits were lifted as soon I stepped inside the house I had grown to love. Please don't think badly of me for living with them, Mom! I didn't know what else to do. The tent I had been living in collapsed underneath a landslide and they both kindly let me stay with them."

"Calm down, Tohru. You had to do what you had to do. And I know you well enough that you won't go around giving your body away to anyone," Kyoko paused, debating whether or not the words she said made sense and didn't sound like she was insulting her daughter. She all of a sudden burst out in laughter. "You lived in a tent? That's my girl! A rebel!"

Tohru looked at her mother curiously as she laughed, and realizing how silly it was that she had lived in a tent for a week, began to giggle herself. Soon mother and daughter were laughing so hard their sides began to burn. They felt if they didn't stop laughing soon that their sides would burst and their laughter began to die down.

Kyoko worriedly looked at her daughter's sudden serious expression. Tohru lowered her head, frowned and began to speak, "Though I still don't know enough about him, but I want to get to know him better. I want to help him when he's upset, but Yuki keeps his feelings inside and is shy when it comes to talking about them," Tohru trailed off as she frowned. She knew some of the reasons why Yuki was so shy and quiet, and also one of his greatest desires, but couldn't think of how to help him achieve his dream. _He aspires to be more like Kyo, accepted by others for who he is, but hides behind his yearning to be liked by everyone._

"Give him time, Tohru. He'll come around. When the time is right, he'll want someone to talk to and by that time he will feel comfortable enough to tell you the deepest secrets of his heart. Then will you know just how much he treasures you as a friend."

Tohru jumped in surprise as an ice-cold chill ran down her spine and a gusty breeze encircled her body. The heavy curtains that hung in her room whipped around in the wind and smacked the back of her head, pressing her head forward so her chin was resting against her chest. The back of her neck and head felt like ice and she dove under the covers to warm her shivering body.

Kyoko got to her feet and slid the window shut. "I thought it was stuffy in here when I came to wake you, but it shouldn't be left open if you are getting sick. I sure hope you aren't coming down with the flu," Kyoko commented as she lay back down beside Tohru. She nudged her daughter's arm with her elbow, "Are you sure he isn't more than a friend?"

"Oh no! I couldn't think about dating him. Sure he is really nice, but I think we are good friends and I don't want to ruin our friendship."

"I see. You have a point there. So, why don't you tell me more about your friend Yuki during breakfast?" she happily asked, kissing her daughters hand before standing, and sliding the door open to go start breakfast.

"Ok," Tohru replied, smiling from ear to ear.

* * *

"I'm finished with my homework, Miss Honda. Maybe we could have…? Miss Honda?" Yuki began, leaning over the table to see Tohru sleeping peacefully. He scooted over to her, nudging her, trying to wake her. When she remained sleeping, he took a blanket out of the cupboard and laid it over her sleeping form. As Yuki sat down beside her, watching her sleep, he noticed her cheeks were a bit red and brushed her bangs away as he felt to see if she had a fever. When he touched her hot forehead, Yuki got up to get her some ice. He thought about carrying her up to her room, instead of having her sleep on the sitting room floor, but decided against it, as he was afraid he would transform. 

"Yuki, what are you doing?" Shigure heard someone in the kitchen, and was surprised to find it was Yuki.

"Getting some ice for Miss Honda."

"Oh? What for?"

"She has a fever. She's sleeping in the sitting room."

"Did you try to wake her?"

"Yes, but she wouldn't wake up."

"I see."

"When she fell asleep, I covered her with a blanket and am going to put this under her head to try to lower her fever."

"There's still hope for you yet, Yuki," Shigure teased, ruffling Yuki's hair. He snuck quietly into the sitting room to see her lying there asleep, just as Yuki said. Her cheeks were indeed flushed and he felt bad that he hadn't put more effort into stopping her from running out into the cold rain.

Yuki returned to Tohru's side a moment afterward. He scooped her head up, placing the bag of ice underneath, and gently set it back down. He watched as she jerked the blanket up around her neck. Shigure stood out on the porch for a few minutes, enjoying the cool breeze from the calm after the storm ruffle through his hair, before coming back inside. He gently closed the shoji doors behind him, bid Yuki and the sleeping Tohru a good night before heading off to bed. Yuki sat and watched her for a while. Thinking it cute when Tohru would occasionally smile and giggle and wondered what she was dreaming about.

Yuki thought back to earlier that evening when Tohru was upset over her laundry not being done. He rose to his feet and headed toward his second-most dreaded room in the house, the laundry room and hesitantly looked into the dryer. Noticing it was empty; he looked into the washer, where he found her laundry plastered to the side of the drum. Yuki grabbed handfuls of laundry, stuffing them into the dryer. He paused in front of the dryer and stared blankly at the dials, unsure of what it would do if he changed the settings even slightly. Deciding to leave them as they were he closed the dryer's door, turned it on and left the room.

He returned to the sitting room a moment after, turning off the lights before sitting down beside Tohru. Yuki rested his head in his hand, leaning against the table, watching faint flashes of the lightning at the tail end of the storm through the translucent shoji doors, as the exhaustion of the long day overwhelmed him. When he felt his eyes become heavy, Yuki took the remaining blanket in the cupboard and wrapped himself up in it before leaning over, gently taking Tohru's limp hand, and kissing it. "Good night, Miss Honda," he whispered, before laying his head in his arms and falling asleep.

* * *

"Hey there, Prince," Uo greeted. 

Yuki jolted awake as he heard the yankee's greeting and the sliding of the sitting room's shoji door. Through his blurred vision he recognized Tohru's best friends standing outside on the porch. He glancing to his side to see Tohru still sleeping, relieved the redness in her cheeks had disappeared and glad she was well again. "Morning," he greeted sleepily, rubbing the blurriness from his eyes.

"Don't you have your own room?"

"I do. I guess I just nodded off in here last night," Yuki chuckled. "What are you two doing here?"

"We said we would be over today, don't you remember?"

"I guess I forgot. Sorry about that."

"Hey, that's all right. Say, where's Tohru?" Uo asked, gazing around the room from outside.

"Uh…"

"I sense Tohru's signals over there," Hana commented, inviting herself in.

"Oh, yes, forgive me, come in," Yuki said.

As Uo and Hana entered the room, they both noticed that Tohru was sleeping beside Yuki and in his clothes no doubt. Hana thought nothing of the situation, but Uo became a little defensive.

"What kinda stunt are you trying to pull, pretty boy?" she demanded, holding him up by his lapel, her other hand clenched in a fist.

"It's not what it looks like, Miss Uotani," Yuki protested, pealing her hand off of the collar of his shirt. "She fell asleep here last night with a fever, so I thought it best if I looked after her here for the night, letting her sleep."

"Why didn't you wake her up and send her up her room, dumb ass? It wasn't very gentleman like just to leave her here. And I thought you were smarter than that?"

"I swear I didn't do anything to Miss Honda, Miss Uotani!"

"I thought I heard you, Yankee!" Kyo greeted.

Yuki, for once in his life, was grateful for Kyo's sudden appearance, as he didn't know how to explain why he didn't send Tohru to bed.

"Oh, there you are, Orange Top."

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"Gee, that's a nice way to greet your guests," Uo sarcastically commented, rolling her eyes.

"Oh, I see we have guests?" Shigure observed, entering the room. "I thought you girls were coming over later?"

"Yeah we were, but we all of a sudden decided 'Hey, we haven't taken Tohru to breakfast for a while.' And so, here we are," Uo replied.

"Breakfast sounds wonderful!" Tohru exclaimed as she stretched. Everyone looked at her, noticing that she was now awake, and bowed their heads in shame for making so much noise.

"Yeah, so why don't you get dressed and we'll go?" Uo suggested.

"Alright," Tohru smiled. She stood up and stretched once more and went to the laundry room. Tohru noticed that there were no clothes in the washer, then thinking she might have put them in the dryer sometime the night before, looked in there. They were in the dryer, but when she opened the door, Tohru was hit with a jolt of sickness when she smelt the rancid odor of damp clothes.

"I'm sorry, Miss Honda. I guess I didn't put them on for long enough last night." Yuki said apologetically, entering the small room.

"That's alright, Yuki. I'll just put them in the washer again." Tohru replied smiling, then turned away as she felt her cheeks heat up. "Thank you so much for trying to do my laundry, Yuki."

"Well, you had a fever, so I thought it was the least I could do for you."

"Thank you very much," Tohru bowed, then paused, "Wait, I had a fever?"

"Yes."

"Oh, I'm…so sorry I troubled you, Yuki."

"No, it's alright, Miss Honda. I didn't mind. It was no trouble at all," Yuki assured her.

They stood looking at one another in silence.

"Now what am I going to do? I have nothing to wear," Tohru sighed as she sank to the floor. "I can't possibly wear this," she continued, tugging on the borrowed shirt, "I wore it all night…"

"Hey, Tohru, hurry up!" Uo called.

"Coming!" Tohru replied before beginning to panic.

"Just borrow something else of mine, Miss Honda. I don't mind."

Tohru gave in to his request and a few minutes after Yuki gave her another set of clothes to borrow, and after changing she descended the stairs ready to go out with her friends.

"What are you _wearing_, Tohru?" Uo asked, in disbelief she was wearing yet another pair of Yuki's clothes.

"Well, uh…all my laundry is dirty and uh…Yuki was kind enough to lend me his clothes."

"We can go another…" Uo began to suggest.

"No, that's alright! You two came all the way here to take me out for breakfast and it would be rude of me to refuse your offer."

"Oh, alright. If you are sure about going out in those clothes."

"You do realize that those Fan Club girls might be out as well? What would they say if they saw you in the Prince's clothes?" Hana questioned.

"Um…uh…eh heh…I don't know…I never thought of that…" Tohru softly answered, staring blankly at her friends.

"You simply alter the outfit so that they aren't recognized as his clothes. It has taken me many years to perfect this art, but finally…" Ayame dramatically answered, emphasizing his points with dramatic hand movements. He approached Tohru, lifting her chin with his index finger to gaze passionately down at her, and after whispering a soft "hello" to the dumbfounded girl he continued, "…after many disappointments, mix-ups, and failures, the art of designing clothing has become my forte."

In an instant Yuki slapped his brother's hand down and put himself between Ayame and Tohru. Uo and Hana didn't know what to think of the tall, long-haired stranger who was flirting with their friend.

"Who invited you?" Yuki and Kyo asked, annoyed at Ayame's sudden appearance.

"My Yuki, you're rough," Ayame whined, caressing his sore red wrist. "Can I not simply come over to visit my brother once and a while?"

"No, now get lost!" Yuki yelled.

"I would do as you say, Yuki, but I have other matters to deal with here. But first I need an obi!" Ayame dramatically demanded. "'Gure, go get me that navy blue one of yours."

Shigure returned a moment later with one of his neatly folded obi's. Ayame took it and approached Tohru once again. "Come now, Yuki, move aside. It isn't as if I'm going to bite her."

"Knowing you, I wouldn't be surprised if you did!"

"Temper, temper," Ayame lectured, waving his finger at his brother.

"Hey! Hold on a minute! Just who the hell are you?" Uo shouted.

"Who am I? I am Ayame Sohma, older brother to Yuki Sohma!" Ayame introduced himself, bowing to Uo and Hana. "And might I add that your beautiful golden locks would look exquisite against the cool color pallet of the dress I am designing. I would be honored if you would model for me."

Uo crossed her arms and scoffed, "Charm doesn't work on me. Besides I don't like to do girly stuff like that."

Ayame frowned at Uo's refusal of his proposal. He then turned his attention back to Tohru, who was still clueless as to what was going on around her. Taking her hand Ayame whirled her around as he wrapped the obi around her, before tying a precise and beautiful bow. Standing back, he admired his alterations, tilting his head this way and that and circling around her. He concluded that there needed to be another alteration, so he found the sewing kit in the sitting room's cupboard. Unwinding a small spool of thread, cutting it with his teeth with a 'snap', and quickly threading the small needle. He then proceeded to weave the needle in and out of Tohru's pant leg with ease as if he was cutting butter with a hot knife. Ayame gathered the fabric loosely and knotted the ends of the thread together, then continued to do the same with the other pant leg. After he finished, he took each of the pant legs and folding them up inside them, so that the pants were now a little below Tohru's knees. He stood back again, admiring his adjustments.

"What do you think, 'Gure?" Ayame asked, crossing his arms and placing a thoughtful finger on his lips, looking over at his friend.

Shigure tilted his head and mirrored his friend by crossing his arms inside his kimono and raising his finger to his lips. "I think it is a wonderful transformation, Aya. All the curves are were they should be, not just boxed up in a baggy shirt."

"Perverted bastard!" Kyo shouted as he punched Shigure, catching him off guard.

"Well, girls? Don't just stand there. Breakfast awaits!" Ayame announced, dramatically waving his arm leading to the outside beyond the shoji doors.

Uo and Hana each took one of Tohru's arms and directed her out of the house to breakfast, their glares never leaving Ayame's eyes.


End file.
